Its discovery 25 years ago led to the creation of the EPA Superfund Program for the cleanup of toxic waste sites. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup work is finished at the infamous Love Canal dumpsite in Niagara Falls, New York. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bud Lowell has more:
Transcript
Its discovery 25 years ago led to the creation of the EPA Superfund Program for the cleanup of
toxic waste sites. Now the Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup work is finished at the
infamous Love Canal dumpsite in Niagara Falls, New York. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Bud Lowell has more:
The Love Canal neighborhood became a national symbol for the problems of toxic waste in 1978.
Nine hundred families were evacuated. An elementary school and two streets of homes were
bulldozed. The remaining landfill was sealed off.
Today, EPA says the 70-acre site can come off the Superfund List but Mike Schade with a
Buffalo-based group called the Citizens Environmental Coalition isn’t so sure. He says about 22-
thousand tons of World War II era chemical byproducts remain buried at the Love Canal site.
“Now, while the EPA and Occidental are monitoring the landfill, time will prove that landfill will
eventually leak. It’s really, inevitable.”
Schade believes the EPA announcement seeks to defuse criticism of a recent U.S. Senate vote.
That vote blocked reauthorizing a law taxing oil and chemical companies to support the
Superfund program.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bud Lowell.
More than half of the U.S. Senators are urging the Bush White House to allow more energy-efficient air conditioners. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
More than half of the U.S. Senators are urging the Bush White House to allow more energy
efficient air conditioners. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The Bush administration proposed reducing the minimum energy efficiency standard for central
air conditioners and heat pumps. It would roll-back a Clinton-era requirement that home air
conditioners be 30 percent more energy efficient starting in 2006. The Bush administration didn’t
want to force the air conditioning industry make the more efficient air conditioners. A federal
court stopped the roll-back to the Clinton rule. The air conditioner industry has dropped its
efforts to overturn the more efficient standard. Now 51 Senators have signed a letter urging
President Bush not to appeal the court’s ruling to the next level. The letter says in part that
making air conditioners as efficient as possible will quote “begin to reduce the stress on the
electricity generation and transmission network and decrease the likelihood of blackouts…” The
Senators indicate that more energy efficient air conditioners is an idea that should be embraced
and encouraged, not appealed.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
A new report by the U.S. Geological Survey says per capita, Americans are using less water now than they were 15 years ago. Researchers say that’s a sign that conservation is working. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, environmental groups say the report paints an incomplete picture:
Transcript
A new report by the U.S. Geological Survey says per capita, Americans are using less water now
than they were 15 years ago. Researchers say that’s a sign that conservation is working. But as
the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports, environmental groups say the report
paints an incomplete picture:
According to the report, technological advances in irrigation and power generation are allowing
people to do more with less water. And the report says household water use is keeping pace with
population growth.
Reg Gilbert is with Great Lakes United. He says there’s not enough information in the report.
Gilbert says he’d like to see how water use is impacting ground and surface water supplies.
“It’s just basically not enough, because the USGS isn’t really given the charge to get the
information that’s needed, and certainly isn’t given the money to put out the kind of report that
would be fully useful.”
Gilbert also says this is the first USGS report that does not break out water use data for the Great
Lakes region. The report’s author says Great Lakes data wasn’t compiled because there wasn’t
enough money to do it.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.
Columbia University professors say they have found the first evidence that two banned pesticides are harmful to humans. They say their study vindicates a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out the chemicals based only on preliminary research on animals. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:
Transcript
Columbia University professors say they have found the first evidence that two banned pesticides
are harmful to humans. They say their study vindicates a decision by the Environmental
Protection Agency to phase out the chemicals based only on preliminary research on animals.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:
Chlorpyrifos and diazinon were once found in over-the-counter products for
in-home pest control. The EPA started to phase out the chemicals four
years ago, after preliminary research showed the chemicals could be
harmful. The new study tracked a group of pregnant women in New York
before, during and after the ban. It found that women with the highest
concentration of the pesticides in their blood had smaller and shorter
babies than those with less exposure. Robin Whyatt is with Columbia’s
Mailman School of Public Health. She led the study. She says there’s no
question the research vindicates the EPA’s decision.
“It certainly supports that that was a good regulatory decision and this also shows that regulation
works.”
While Whyatt says the ban was good policy, she says more studies should be
done to confirm her results. Chlorpyrifos and diazinon are still widely
used in agriculture. Some environmental groups say the chemicals should
also be phased out there.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.
Wolf populations are on the rise. Conservation officials say that’s a victory for wildlife. But more wolves mean more encounters with farms and livestock. Now, a group of researchers has developed maps to predict where wolves might attack. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Corbin Sullivan has more:
Transcript
Wolf populations are on the rise. Conservation officials say that’s a victory for wildlife. But more
wolves means more encounters with farms and livestock. Now, a group of researchers has developed
maps to predict where wolves might attack. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Corbin Sullivan has
more:
In a study published in the journal Conservation
Biology, the researchers mapped wolf attacks on
livestock in Wisconsin and Minnesota. They compared
the areas with the most attacks to those with the least.
The maps show that farms with the largest pastures and
the largest herds are at high risk for wolf attacks.
Nearby deer populations also put farms at higher risk.
Adrian Treves helped develop the maps. He says they
can help farmers and state officials focus their efforts to
prevent wolf attacks.
“Instead of diverting time and staff and resources across
the entire range of the wolves, they can choose to invest
their efforts in areas that are moderate to high risk.”
Treves says farmers can choose to use guard animals or
improved fencing to ward off wolf attacks. He says loud
recorded sounds, such as helicopters and gunfire, also
deter wolves.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Corbin
Sullivan.
Often our first impulse to clean up a mess is to reach for a chemical cleaner. It’s the same kind of approach in environmental clean-ups. Often the experts first turn to chemicals to clean up badly polluted areas. A new approach to cleaning up pollution has been evolving in recent years. Instead of creating new chemicals to clean up contaminated areas, researchers are trying to use what Mother Nature already provides. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Victoria Fenner has more:
Transcript
Often our first impulse to clean up a problem is to reach for a chemical cleaner. It’s the same kind
of approach in environmental clean-ups. Often the experts first turn to chemicals to clean up
badly polluted areas. A new approach to cleaning up pollution has been evolving in recent years.
Instead of creating new chemicals to clean up contaminated areas, researchers are trying to use
what Mother Nature already provides. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Victoria Fenner has
more:
Nathalie Ross is standing in front of a big water tank divided into three sections. She’s a scientist
at Canada’s National Water Research Institute. She’s working on a different kind of approach
towards environmental cleanup. She explains she’s letting Mother Nature clean up different
aspects of pollution in each section of the tank.
“The first one is what we call natural attenuation, which is based on the natural process to
degrade contaminants, so that’s what we can call our control.”
In the second section, nutrients are added to the water to feed the existing bacteria to see if they
can be stimulated to clean up the water that’s polluted with chlorinated products.
“The third tank, in addition to the nutrients, we add bacteria. And those bacteria were shown to
degrade the chlorinated products, so we are hoping that it would speed up and also complete the
process to the end where we are hoping to see no contaminant at all.”
What Ross is demonstrating is “Green Chemistry.” Also known as Green Technology, the
concept is simple – instead of creating brand new chemicals, it’s becoming increasingly possible
to use the chemicals and processes already available in nature. The thought is that naturally
occurring compounds will be less harmful than the ones that we invent in the lab.
There are two streams of green chemistry – one is using environmentally conscious principles in
the production of new products and processes – water based paints and fuel produced from corn
are a couple of examples. Nathalie Ross is demonstrating the other stream – using naturally
occurring substances and biological agents such as bacteria to clean up the pollution we’ve already
created.
Jim Nicell is doing similar work. He’s an associate professor in the Department of Civil
Engineering at McGill University in Montreal. He’s working with enzymes that will clean up
toxic waste. He’s found a surprisingly ordinary source of the enzymes – a piece of horseradish
root.
“You can take your horseradish, put it in a blender, get the horseradish sauce if you want and
have it for supper. But before you do that, squeeze out the juice which is pretty awful, raw,
smelly stuff, which actually has a high concentration of this enzyme. I literally took that juice
and added some hydrogen peroxide and into a solution that contained some pretty toxic materials
and they just precipitate out. And so with a very small quantity of this enzyme we can actually
have a major impact on reducing the toxicity of that waste.”
The simplicity of Green Chemistry has been gradually attracting the attention of scientists and industry over
the past fifteen years. In terms of scientific developments, it’s still pretty young. But it’s a
concept that makes a lot of sense to Nicell.
“Nature is a whole lot smarter than we are. It’s had a lot more time than we’ve had to optimize
the way things are carried out. Now, we have a whole bunch of industrial catalysts that we have
made in the past but we don’t have nearly the time or, I guess, the capability, the experimental
setup that nature has had to produce the optimal catalysts.”
It might seem like an ideal solution, but critics say we need to be careful. One of the concerns
which has been raised is ecological balance – whenever large quantities of any substance are
released, even natural ones, there is often a risk that we’ll change the environment in ways we
don’t want to.
Brian McCarry is a scientist with the Department of Chemistry at McMaster University in
Hamilton, Ontario. He says, despite that concern, we shouldn’t be overly worried.
“They’re natural organisms, they’re not pathogenic. I don’t think they’re going to disrupt the
balance of nature. They’re not like putting in some really vigorous organism that takes over.
These are also not mutant, genetically engineered organisms so I don’t think anybody should be
terribly worried about having all sorts of strange genetic material floating around that are now
going to get into the ecosystem and run amok.”
There’s one other big concern about Green Chemistry: the cost. Both Nathalie Ross’s water
project and Jim Nicell’s horseradish experiments are still in the early stages. It’s not clear yet
whether it will be cost effective for large-scale industrial applications. But given the benefits of
green chemistry, advocates hope that the value of using the simple answers nature offers will also
be considered, not just the cost.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Victoria Fenner.
Zookeepers noticed something was wrong with the Lansing zoo's lion, Samburu. The zoo's vet discovered cancer and the lion is being treated. For some zoos lately, animal care and keeping has been an issue. (photo by Lester Graham)
During a radio interview, zookeeper Bruce Snyder gets ready to stuff chemotherapy drugs into a ball of meat for the recovering lion at Potter Park Zoo. The lion has received a number of 'Get Well' wishes from area children. (photo by Melissa Ingells)
In recent weeks, some zoos have been in the news. In Dallas,a gorilla escaped and hurt some visitors. Police shot and killed it. A report criticized the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. for not preventing the deaths of animals there. News reports have suggested that these incidents might be connected to financial struggles. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… top zoo officials say any budget cuts should not affect the care and keeping of the animals:
Transcript
In recent weeks, some zoos have been in the news. In Dallas, a gorilla escaped and hurt some
visitors. Police shot and killed it. A report criticized the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. for
not preventing the deaths of animals there. News reports have suggested that these incidents
might be connected to financial struggles. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports, top zoo officials say any budget cuts should not affect the care and keeping of the
animals:
(young child talking about the lion)
In the lion house, children have left “Get Well” wishes. On one piece of
notebook paper there’s a pencil and crayon drawing of a lion, with messages
surrounding it. One reads: “I hope you feel better because you deserve to
live. Love, Ashley” Another reads “I hope your cancer goes away. Love,
Rita.”
Last November, zookeepers at the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan
noticed something was wrong with Samburu, a big male lion. Jan Brigham is
one of the zookeepers. She says Samburu wasn’t as energetic as usual. And
there were other signs something wasn’t right…
“We noticed a weight loss on him and mainly through his hindquarters, like his pelvic bones. So,
even though his stomach was somewhat big – and now we know why – his hindquarters, you
could see a weight loss.”
Even after he was fed more meat, the aging lion didn’t seem to get any heavier.
(walkie-talkie chatter)
The zookeepers kept the veterinarian Tara Harrison up to date about the situation. Dr. Harrison
decided it was time to anesthetize the big cat and check him over. His spleen was enlarged.
“And found out that there was cancer in it, so, then we decided to schedule a date for surgery.
And we removed his spleen and took samples of other organs as well and started him on
chemotherapy.”
(Samburu growling in distance)
Down in the kitchen, behind the lion exhibit Bruce Snyder is getting a big
package of meat ready for Samburu. They’re still giving the lion extra
food, trying to build his strength, but they’re also putting chemotherapy
drugs into the meat.
“Instead of a fast day, which the bone day, we’ve been giving him
meat everyday along with his bones. I just take and stuff these pills in
it. LG: It’s a lot like a hamburger, sort of. “Yes. So, what we do is
just mix this up. He’ll scarf this down real quick.”
These days Samburu is feeling a little more feisty…
(attack growls)
You don’t want to get between him and his dinner.
(more roaring)
This story is the way it’s supposed to happen. Zookeepers keep a watchful
eye on the animals. The vet takes action. The animals live. Little kids
wish them a speedy recovery. And for the most part… that’s what happens.
But some zoos have been struggling. And a debate is beginning. The
question is: are the problems in the news lately signs that zoos are
hurting?
Bob Cook is Chief Veterinarian at Wildlife Conservation Society which
operates, among other things, the Bronx Zoo. He also chairs the Animal Health Committee of the
American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the membership organization of the
nation’s zoos. Dr. Cook says things are tough at some zoos.
“I’d say, in general, zoos have really been challenged since 9/11.
Attendance has been off in some places. Governments, local, state as well
as federal, the cuts that they make often trickle down. But, let me be very
clear that the one thing that is central to all of our missions is
maintaining the health and welfare of these very special animals which we
care for.”
Cook says they can cut back on education programs, cut outreach programs,
but zoos should not, cannot, must not cut back on the care and keeping of
the animals. He says budget cuts really shouldn’t have anything to do with
the zoo keepers keeping a close eye on the animals. He believes the
problems that have put some zoos in the news lately have simply been human
mistakes or design flaws in the enclosures, not signs that zoos are cutting
back on the care of the animals.
Still, the news reports at the problem zoos often note financial struggles
and we’re all left wondering if there’s a link.
(bird calls)
At Samburu’s home, the zookeepers say they’re keeping an eye on the lion’s
attitude and behavior. His cancer is in remission… and he’s acting fierce again.
Zookeeper Jan Brigham says in the 15 years she’s been taking care of Samburu,
he’s never been what you’d call friendly, but she’s really happy the tough
old cat is doing okay for now.
“I mean it was a big surprise to all of us that he has gone into
remission. How long he’ll be in remission, we don’t know. And we accept
the fact that, you know, we may have only extended his life six to twelve
months, but if that’s what it is, then so be it. But, yeah, we’re all happy
with the outcome.”
Samburu’s story is making the rounds among zoos. It’s a good news story
when too often the bad news about zoos makes the front page. The silver
lining about that is that zoos across the nation are reviewing their
procedures and making sure the care for the animals is everything it should
be.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
When tires are balanced, lead weights are usually attached to the wheel rim. The weights make sure the tires wear evenly, and ensure a smooth ride. But the Ecology Center says the weights fall off, and the lead degrades easily, posing a risk to human health. (Photo by Mark Brush)
Lead wheel weights are about 95% lead. Two recent studies found that when the weights fall off of cars, they get ground up by traffic. Lead dust is deposited by roadways and sidewalks, and some researchers think the dust might be harmful to human health. The Ecology Center's "Lead-Free Wheels" program is trying to get tire retailers and local governments to switch to non-lead wheel weights. (Photo by Mark Brush)
Lead is toxic to children. Even small amounts of exposure can cause developmental problems. Lead-based house paint is banned in the U.S. Now, an environmental group is calling for a phase-out of a car part that contains lead. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has more:
Transcript
Lead is toxic to children. Even small amounts of exposure can cause developmental problems.
Lead-based house paint is banned in the U.S. Now, an environmental group is calling for a
phase-out of a car part that contains lead. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca
Williams has more:
(tire balancing sound)
When you go to get new tires, or to have them rebalanced, the mechanic often
attaches lead weights to the wheel rims. The weights help ensure a smooth
ride and make sure tires wear evenly.
But two recent studies found some of these wheel weights fall off. The
researchers say that adds up to 275 tons of lead dropped onto roads in the
region every year. One of the studies found the soft metal gets ground up
and deposited near curbs.
Jeff Gearhart is with the Ecology Center. His group is concerned the lead
dust could be tracked into homes and washed into water supplies. So the
group is working with tire retailers to switch to non-lead wheel weights.
“Lead, in commerce, being used in a way where there’s exposure, is something
we should move away from. The European Union has banned the use of these
weights and we think that that is going to be needed in the U.S. as well.
Gearhart says the Ecology Center will help retailers cover the cost of
switching to non-lead weights.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.
The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The federal government is getting ready to approve new types of non-toxic ammunition for
shooting ducks and geese… but the government isn’t even thinking about tackling a related issue.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of approving three new types of non-toxic
shot for waterfowl hunting. Shotgun shell pellets used to be made of lead. But years of lead
pellets dropping into the wetlands found foraging waterfowl eating the lead and dying. So, lead
shot was banned in 1991. Since then, manufacturers have been looking for new shot formulations
that work well for hunters, but are non-toxic.
Nicholas Throckmorton is with the Fish and Wildlife Service and he says new kinds of shot give
hunters some options.
“Hopefully, late spring, early summer the three companies will be allowed to sell their new shot
formulations.”
While lead shot is banned, the government isn’t doing anything about lead bullets. Rifles still
use lead slugs. Game that is shot, but gets away is usually eaten by predators or scavengers.
Some of the animals, such as the endangered condor, have died from lead poisoning.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
High prices being paid for scrap metal have some thieves taking the recycling ethic too far. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
High prices being paid for scrap metal have some thieves taking the recycling ethic too far. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
There’s a bidding war between U.S. and Chinese firms for scrap metal. But it’s not just honest
people who are getting up to 300-hundred dollars per ton for material like scrap steel. Some
communities report that thieves are stealing sewer covers and sewer grates and getting cash from
metal recyclers who look the other way. In Milwaukee, more than 160 grates have been stolen
just this year.
Marty Forman runs a Milwaukee scrap recycling company. He deplores the
thefts, but says it’s impossible to trace altered metal.
“Metal has no memory. Once you melt metal, it doesn’t remember who it used to be. It’s just
copper, it’s just steel, it’s just brass.”
Forman predicts scrap metal prices will drop by the end of the summer. But in the meantime, he
urges scrap recyclers to work with police and give thieves a cold shoulder when they bring in hot
and heavy metal.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.
